Lake Winnipeg

This sucker scares the heck out of me!

But I am getting ahead of myself.

Once the North Saskatchewan and South Saskatchewan merge beyond Prince Albert, the distance to The Pas, Manitoba is 360 km. In that leg I will have to pass around two hydro dams and the reservoirs behind them. The latter are noteworthy because they are known to be subject to some nasty local winds. Prior to arriving at The Pas, I will pass historic Cumberland House.  The Pas will be my resupply center for the three weeks dealing with Cedar Lake and Lake Winnipeg for there are very few inhabitants before I get to Lac du Bonnet on the Winnipeg River. Cedar Lake is essentially now a 170 km long hydro reservoir behind the dam at Grand Rapids, Manitoba situated at the outlet into Lake Winnipeg.

The north basin of Lake Winnipeg is the historic route of the fur traders heading to Montreal and, as I am trying to be as authentic as possible, is the route I will take. Later in history many fur traders opted for the longer route from Cedar Lake south into Lake Winnipegosis by way of Mossy Portage, over a portage into Lake Manitoba and down its length, over a 30 km portage to Portage la Prairie on the Assiniboine River, east on the Assiniboine to Winnipeg on the Red River, down the latter to Lake Winnipeg and up the east shore to the entrance to the Winnipeg River. I have read reports of three trips from the 2011season, and they all eschewed taking the north basin of Lake Winnipeg at the least and in two cases they opted for the broader Lake Manitoba route.

While my heart says go Lake Winnipeg, it will depend on weather. There are two types of weather to concern myself about. Firstly, there are large scale systems which make travel perilous if not impossible. Last year there were weeks of torrential rains in south western Manitoba which made travel on Lake Manitoba and Assiniboine River very hazardous. In 2010, there were massive storm systems, which included tornados, in east / central Saskatchewan. My brother in law, Jim Munro, did the same trip as me in 1970 and was marooned by weather for more than a week on an island in Lake Winnipeg and when food ran out they scavenged for gull eggs to feed themselves. Thankfully Environment Canada provides constant marine weather updates on its VHF service and I am experienced in the use of this magical resource. I trust I won’t have to use my SPOT devise or satellite radio to rescue me.

The second type of weather concerns are local conditions wherein topography breeds squalls which can turn the water into frothing waves in minutes. The problem is that Lake Winnipeg is very shallow and wind can generate large crests of water which can imperil even a kayak. Although I will not be far from shore, there are reputedly areas where I won’t be able to get off the water for rocks and cliffs. I will need to be on constant guard. The lack of inhabitants and desolation makes weather issues loom larger than say in Lake Superior, for on the latter at least the highway is adjacent to the coast for the most part.

I had hoped to have John George as a partner for this section, but late last week he advised he won’t be participating. As John is the best paddler I know, I came to think of him as my safety blanket. Perhaps it was the clarity of this understanding which helped him reach his conclusion. Fair enough, but it made me feel so alone. I will need a strong dose of courage to push on at this point.

Even if I were to bail at this point, where would I go? One group last summer got a ride from Grand Rapids to Hecla on the islands of the Hecla / Grindstone Provincial Park jutting out into the western shore of the south basin of Lake Winnipeg. While the south basin does not appear as daunting, I would still have to cross from the west to east shore and travel down the east shore to the Winnipeg River estuary.  Regardless of how I make it there, I will at this point summon the spirit of my grandfather Thomas Leonard Hartley, who built a summer cottage in 1926 for my father Herbert and his sister Muriel at Camp Morton north of Gimli on the west shore, to give me resolve. Similarly, it will warm my heart to know that my brother Ian’s wife Marie Louise spent her summers at Winnipeg Beach on the west shore –and survived all the shenanigans let alone the storms.

I will focus on my vision of entering the Winnipeg River and coming up to the first of five dams: “Problem, no problem!”